Arizona To Host 2016 PAC Rugby Sevens Championship

University of Arizona Rugby Release: July 25, 2016

July 22- The PAC Conference has formally awarded the University of Arizona the 2016 PAC Rugby Sevens Championship at the Pima County Kino Sports Complex on November 12-13, 2016.

Arizona’s selection marks the first PAC Rugby Sevens Championship to be held in Tucson. The host site was selected via a formal bid process and evaluation by the conference members. The winning proposal was produced by the combined efforts from Visit Tucson, Pima County Kino Sports Complex, and the University of Arizona Men’s Rugby program.

With Rugby’s re-inclusion in the Summer Olympics headlining the upcoming games in Brazil next month, this year’s tournament will be the most anticipated to date in the event’s five-year history. The tournament moves to Tucson following a successful two-year stint at Cal, where last year’s hosts took home the crown as PAC champions. The conference’s Sevens prowess was on full display this past year, as Cal, UCLA, and Arizona finished in the top three of the Collegiate Rugby Championship Sevens on NBC as the Bears took home the title in front of record crowds.

For Arizona Head Coach Sean Duffy, the announcement is a win for the entire conference and puts the onus on the new hosts to carry on the legacy of this prestigious tournament. “We are ecstatic and thankful to be hosting this year’s championship and want to thank Visit Tucson and Kino Sports Complex for their hard work in helping us bring this event here” said Duffy. “We have had terrific editions of this tournament at Stanford, UCLA, and Cal in the past five years and it’s now our turn to carry the torch forward and make it the best yet.”

“We are excited for this partnership and opportunity to raise the level of Rugby in Tucson and provide the community with a positive economic source. This is just another step in putting Tucson on the Sports Events Industry map” said Jeffrey John of Visit Tucson Sports.

The tournament will take place at Pima County Kino Sports Complex, a 155 acre professional sports and entertainment venue in Tucson which features a 2,000 seat stadium along with additional match fields. The venue most recently hosted the 2016 USA Rugby Western Men’s & Women’s Senior Club National Quarterfinals & Semifinals this Spring. The event in November will feature teams from traditional PAC-12 Universities, with a broadcast/webcast partner to be announced shortly.

For more information or corporate partnership inquiries, please contact:
Sean Duffy, Head Coach- Men’s Rugby
University of Arizonaduffys@email.arizona.edu